One quick note! Tonight at 8 PM CST,
I’ll be chatting live at Righteous Perverts!

Yes, another new release! I’ve barely had room to breathe this month so much is happening. Bitten in the Big Easy is a two-book anthology, with stories from Paisley Smith and myself. Yes, they’re lesbian romances, but even if that’s not your usual kind of read, you’ll be caught up in the drama. The sex is hot, but the stories are every bit as thrilling. The world our sisters Cissy and Elena live in is dark and filled with enemies. You won’t want to miss the first installment in the Femme Noir series!

Here’s an excerpt…but don’t read any further if you’re not 18 or older!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elena could only watch, shivering in terror. Those words reverberated in her mind.

First, I wish to play…

How many times had that phrase played inside her dreams as she’d relived the horror of her incarceration in Erzsébet’s palace? Most days she slept nude, atop the covers, because even a hint of restraint sent her deep into her nightmare. How did this woman, this human, know her weakness?

Think, think. You aren’t an animal. You are only at her mercy if you allow it.

How many times had she reassured herself with the same lie? And yet, she forced her breathing to slow, her heart to still. Whatever potion Cassia had used to paralyze her had worn off. Only a haze at the periphery of her vision remained, causing her sight to narrow to a tunnel. Would Cassia drug her again if she knew she’d recovered? If she banged against her cage, could she free herself in time?

Best to wait. What had she meant, there will only be one night? Did Cassia intend to kill her?

Not that Elena was afraid to die. She’d considered committing another terrible sin a few times during her long life. But the thought of dying now, not by her choice or hand, enraged her.

Some of her thoughts must have shown in her eyes.

Cassia stepped closer, slipping her hands between the flat iron slats to bracket Elena’s cheeks with her palms. She pressed so close her warm breaths gusted softly against Elena’s skin. As Elena drew in the hot, humid scent, her pussy grew engorged and her teeth sank into the hard rubber ball.

“Surrender to me, my beauty. There’s no need to fight. You want this. You want me.” Cassia came closer still, her lush mouth parting. The kisses she pressed on Elena’s face between the bars were soft and wet. Her tongue darted out to lick the sweat beading on her brow.

Anger and desire mixed with regret that the other woman’s tenderness was only a ploy. Tears pricked the backs of Elena’s eyes, but she refused to let them well. She blinked furiously, glaring all the while even though her body was beginning to melt.

How truly twisted am I? Sure, she feared the confinement but she was aware of the structure of the cage, of the opening behind her bottom. Memories of the horrific pleasures she’d enjoyed so long ago swam inside her mind while Cassia cupped her face like a child’s to reassure her.
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Ooops! I didn’t think I had the blog from Mary until I read through my huge inbox from yesterday. So now you have two blogs for today to comment on! ~DD

A Few Sneaky Tricks To Make A So-So Writing Day Better!

By Mary Kennedy Eastham

We all have days when our inner writing spirit needs a pep talk! Here are a few things that work for me:

…This one is easy. STAY ON TRACK. I try to end each writing day with a promise for the next day. When I go to sleep, I think about what I need to discover about my heroine. It could be something simple, like her fave late nite talk show host – is it Dave, Jay or Jimmy???

…This one is corny but it was suggested to me by a wonderfully successful fine artist. I start every writing day by giving myself a ‘star’, the way our teachers did in those early school days. I look for stars in fun paper stores like Paper Source. Their motto is: DO SOMETHING CREATIVE EVERY DAY.

…Drop and give me: 10 push-ups, a minute of jumping rope, 10 sit-ups, a minute of jumping jacks, 10 lunges and a minute of running in place. Repeat as often as you want to. I always feel better after exercise. Even if it’s only for a few minutes.

…Work on something else. I was really getting stuck in my novel Night Surfing, so one day I just decided to start writing a short-story “The Girl With Sand in Her Hair.” I am loving working on that story. It will be the final story in a short story collection of the same name.

…Give yourself a real treat. For me that’s a Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Mint Square. Then I pick up a book by one of my favorite authors. I sit down for only a minute and read a passage from the book very slowly and sometimes out loud. I let the beautiful flow of the language seep into my brain. It’s like listening to a favorite song. I’m all pumped and I can’t wait to get back to my writing.

MARY KENNEDY EASTHAM’s book The Shadow of a Dog I Can’t Forget is a 2011 WILD CARD Runner-Up Winner in the Hollywood Book Festival, WINNER of the 2010 Celebrity Achievement Award, was a Runner-Up for BEST POETRY BOOK & Honorable Mention Winner at the L.A. Guerilla Marketing Book Contest. Points of Love, a poem from the book, was a $5,000 award winner in the Dorothy Sargent Rosenburg Poetry Contest. Her website is: www.RP-Author.com/MKE. She’s on Facebook under her name and on Twitter under Word Actress.

Whatever you need to know about the book before you buy it is just a click of the cover away. Read the blurb, read and exceprt. And when you’re ready to buy, here are a couple of links:

Buy at Samhain
Buy at Amazon

There are a couple of things you can do that I would sincerely appreciate:
1) If you read it, offer a review of the story, on Amazon and/or Samhain’s site, so that the next person who clicks on the book page will know what you thought. People really do read those!
2) Head to the Amazon page and “tag” it. When someone types in “cowboy” and “menage”, you will help them find my book!

Now, I get to sit back and wait to see what you thought. I really hope I hit your sweet spot. 🙂

The winner of the Bored Fairy and a Book contest is…Monique Ito! Monique, contact me regarding delivery of your prizes!

This will be Hell-Month for me. Only one trip at the end of the month, but tons of writing to get done! And I have FOUR RELEASES! Sheesh! Here’s what’s coming (click on the covers to read excerpts):

Girls Who Bite—September 13 (officially!)

For bad girls looking for love…fangs are more than an accessory.

These are no Twilight tales—the stories in Girls Who Bite are varied, unexpected, and soul-scorching. Bestselling romance writer Delilah Devlin and her contributors investigate vampire myths from around the world, and add fresh girl-on-girl blood to the pantheon of the paranormal.

Take a walk on the wild side with some of the hottest erotic romance authors out there. In “La Caída,” a Mexican “salt-eater” saves a fallen angel and redeems her own soul. In “Bloody Wicked,” a powerful witch’s spell to lure a lover turns her into a vampire’s love slave. Through a “Pet Door,” a shapeshifting vampire meets the dominatrix of her dreams. South African “Impundulu” sweeps you back into a vampire’s primeval beginnings. With a list of contributors that include Adele Dubois, Christine d’Abo, Paisley Smith, Myla Jackson, Shayla Kersten and Vivi Anna, Devlin delivers a dark and sexy read you can sink your teeth into!

So, sit astride the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, sail with modern-day pirates, watch a meteor fall to earth, and taste the powdery wings of a Monarch butterfly. Not things you’d expect in a vampire tale? Then sip O-positive from a femoral artery while tugging at the silky strands of your lover’s hair. Eternally delicious.

A Four-Gone Conclusion—September 13

Sometimes a cowboy needs a little help—or three brothers—to snare a wife…

Sam Logan’s boys have a bad rep in Two Mule, Texas. Most of it earned. When it becomes clear his foster sons won’t settle down without a nudge from him, he issues his challenge. Find a wife…

The oldest, Johnny, already had his eye on Mean Ellie Harker. Sam’s challenge just gave him the gumption to ask her out. However, before he makes his move, the twins kidnap Ellie from under his nose. Now, he has to compete with three brothers for the woman he wants.

Ellie thought her prospects were drying up until Johnny Logan finally untangled his tongue and asked her out. When his brothers kidnap her and take her to the ranch, she’s furious…then intrigued by the thought of four men bent on showing her what being theirs would be like.

Warning: Four handsome cowboys. Four choices. Would it be a single sordid night or a chance at heaven as she savors every luscious inch of the Logan brothers?

Bitten in the Big Easy—September 21

Femme Noir, Book One

Butterfly by Paisley Smith

Vampire Narcissa Csintalan is in a New Orleans bar, waiting on her tardy sister Elena, when she develops a raging fang-on for the bar’s sinfully sexy, butch bass player. The bite marks on the songbird’s neck put her at the top of Cissy’s must-feed list.

Butterfly Baudelaire has sworn off strays, but the blonde coming on to her has a killer pair of fangs and looks like she knows how to use ’em. Butterfly’s not banking on the bite Cissy takes out of her heart—or the fact more than her well-spanked bottom is in danger from her vampire lover.

Gilded Cage by Delilah Devlin

Since her turning, Elena Csintalan has wrestled her inner demon on a nightly basis. She never expects her limits to be tested—until she finds herself drawn to a tawny woman whose lush curves make her eyeteeth spike. Before she knows it, she’s dangling inside an iron cage, one that’s frighteningly familiar. And the punishment she endures is oh so divine…

Despite a surprising empathy she feels for the vampire she’s captured, Cassia proceeds with her coven’s plan—drain Elena of her blood at the height of orgasm to complete a potion that will protect them from Elena’s maker. Cassia scried the darkness coming their way, and the monster has a name…the Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

B is for Bondage—end of September

This will be a print book and include 3 or 4 of the 1-800-Dom series books, including my story, Begging For It.

Is that enough? It’s crazy.

This month, I hope to complete the first of a fun cop-menage series for Samhain. I’m almost there, actually, and sooo late my editor has to wonder whether I’m turning diva! Then it’s on to the sequel of True Heart for Samhain and the sequel to Bitten in the Big Easy for Ellora’s Cave. Plus, I have to wrap up editing Beastly Babes and The Cowboy for Cleis and write my forewords for both books as well as shorts to include in the anthologies. Breathe!

Can you tell I’m a little frazzled? I’ll need some encouragement (um, nags and spankings) to keep working. Do not be gentle! ~DD

Psst! Be sure to check out today’s blog at Girls Who Bite! C.J. Ellison is donating two copies of both books in The V V Inn series to two commenters today!

In the meantime… Yup, I have a short story in The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance, which releases today in the U.S.! It’s entitled “Hot Out Here”—and the only way you’ll get to read it is if you happen to beg, borrow, or buy your very own copy. Enjoy the excerpt!

Beads of condensation, glittering jewel-like in the sputtering candlelight, ran in rivulets down the sides of Jason’s ice-cold beer.

Detail I shouldn’t have been able to note, given the fact I wasn’t anywhere near him.

As I lowered my nephew’s toy binoculars, I reflected that I had indeed sunk to a new low. You see, my bedroom window conveniently overlooked Jason and Robert’s fenced backyard. A fact that never registered with the previous tenants, but one that proved too delicious to ignore after the arrival of the handsome duo.

I began a furtive surveillance at once. One that had me cringing in embarrassment each time I greeted them in passing and feeling even more ashamed when we struck up a friendship.

We’d shared meals, drinks, watched football games together on their wide-screen TV. And still, I peeked into their backyard, waiting for those moments when they popped outside to mow it or catch a few summer rays. Their bodies gleamed with sweat while raw lust warred inside me along with the fear that I’d mess up our relationship if I let the guys know how I really felt.

My convenient perch on the windowsill afforded me a window into their private lives, and I was hooked from the very beginning. They’d become an obsession, one frustrated by the fact they treated me like a kid sister rather than a woman one of them might desire.

And therein lay another problem. I’d resisted the urge to seek a deeper relationship because then I’d have to choose. My libido was completely fickle, lusting after Jason’s muscled physique, then sighing over the possibilities of what Robert’s tall, bony frame and large feet hinted at. That their personalities were perfect bookends, fierce and funny, confused my heart as well.
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I have another call for submissions to any writers out there—and its short-fused! If you get your submission into me early enough, and if it requires changes to make it acceptable, you’ll get the chance to resubmit. I’ll work with you. Also, I need a sexier title. Anyone have any suggestions? I’d love to hear your ideas!

And don’t forget about Beastly Babes—those short stories are due at the end of July. Read more about it here: Beastly Babes ~DD

The Cowboy
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Publisher: Cleis Press in Fall 2012
Deadline: August 30, 2011 September 10, 2011
The Cowboy (tentative title) is open to all authors.

Editor Delilah Devlin is looking for hetero cowboy stories for a romantic erotica anthology tentatively entitled The Cowboy.

There’s a reason Western romance novels never go out of fashion. The cowboy is an iconic figure that embodies the dichotomy of the fiercely independent, earthy alpha male and the male as a nurturer. Given a picture of a man on a horse, wearing Wranglers, chaps, and with a broad-rimmed hat shadowing his face, women melt.

Even when he’s up to his knees in mud freeing a calf from a wallow, his image doesn’t tarnish. The imagination sparks, filling in the details—the scent of horse, cow, and crisp, clean sweat; the sight of sun-leathered skin and crows feet; the feel of work-hardened thighs and arms; and the sound of a deep-voiced, Texas drawl.

The Cowboy will seek stories that satisfy the reader who craves the romantic idea of that gruff, capable man while exploring stories in the American West as well as lesser-known international settings. The stories will be primarily contemporary with the possibility of a few historical Westerns. While traditional themes are likely to be featured, writers will be encouraged to imagine greater in order to create tales that, while featuring that iconic hero, may also surprise, like the rodeo clown seducing the cowboy-crazy “buckle bunny” or a Quigley Down Under story set in the pampas mired in a South American range war.

Published authors with an established Western world may use that setting for their original short story.

The stories may be as kinky or vanilla as the writer wants—but a deep sensuality should linger in every word. Exotic locations and scenarios are welcome. Keep in mind there must be a romantic element with a happy-for-now or happy-ever-after ending. Strong plots, engaging characters and unique twists are the ultimate goal. Please no reprints. We are seeking original stories.

How to submit: Prepare your 1,500 to 4,500 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12 point, black font Word document with pages numbered (.doc, NOT.docx) OR rich text format. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing, do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). US grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the page, include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), mailing address, and 50 words or less bio in the third person to cleisthecowboy@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you’d like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories. Delilah will respond in October 2011. The publisher has final approval over the stories included in the manuscript.

Payment will be $50.00 USD and two copies of the published book upon publication.

About the editor: Ms. Devlin has published over eighty erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths. Her published print titles include Into the Darkness, Seduced by Darkness, Darkness Captured, Down in Texas, Texas Men and Ravished by a Viking. Her short stories are featured in Zane’s Purple Panties, and Cleis Press’s Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Carnal Machines, and Dream Lovers. She is published by Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, Atria/Strebor, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, and Berkley. In Fall 2011, she debuts her first anthology with Cleis Press, Girls Who Bite.

Direct any questions you have regarding your story or the submission process to Delilah at cleisthecowboy@gmail.com.

Yes, admire that image—the dark sky full of ominous portent, the hero tenderly shielding the heroine, the woman clinging to her man…

Okay, so it’s one of my stories. You know she’s going to give a bit of fight. And this time, she’s the one in the duster. Here’s what the story’s all about…

The best defense is no match for desire this hot…

Kate McKinnon’s Sanctuary is an island of refuge in a western frontier shrouded in post-apocalyptic chaos. Her only escape from her crushing responsibilities is occasional radio contact with other pockets of survivors. Especially one man whose deep, raspy voice cuts through her exhaustion, straight to her heart. A man whose face she has only imagined.

When she and her ranch hands are surrounded by renegades, she doesn’t recognize the leader of the militaristic band that rescues them, but knows that voice.

Ty Bennett is already half in love with the human woman whose voice haunts his dreams. His impulsive offer to add muscle to the Sanctuary’s defenses is dangerous to them both. Helping her may redeem some of his sins, but proximity only increases his hunger to possess her—body, soul…and blood.

Without hesitation, she welcomes Ty and his men into the Sanctuary…only to discover the reason why they only ride at night. Yet the survival instinct that screams at her to drive them off is no match for Ty’s seductive powers. Or the need for protection from the threat that howls at Sanctuary’s gates.

Warning: Expect a dark, violent world where a vampire driven by uncontrollable lusts strikes a bargain with a strong woman willing to succumb to the carnal pleasures only a vampire can provide.

Read an excerpt

I have two new contests. Both contests end June 27th!

1) The Cabbage Rose Fairy Contest

What can you win?
The last of the lovely fairy journals I purchased to share. It has a velveteen cover, heavy, stock blank paper and artwork sure to thrill you every time you reach for it!

What do you have to do?
Post comments on my blog and or her Facebook page. Every comment you make over the next two weeks will count as one entry. How easy is that?

2) The Promo Ho Contest

What can you win?
I’m giving away one $50.00 Amazon.com gift certificate.

What do you have to do to enter?
See the covers below? These books are in sore need of online reviews by happy readers. So I’m offering a tempting bribe. You know there won’t be as many entries for this contest as for the last one, but wouldn’t you like to have some cash to spend on new books? And who knows? Maybe you already have these stories sitting on your TBR pile. Time to move them to the top!

Give a review for one of these stories on one of the online bookstores. Send me the link at del…@delilahdevlin.com. It can be the same review on three different sites, but send me three separate messages with the different links. Doesn’t matter if the review is on the Samhain’s or Ellora’s Cave’s website, Smashwords, Amazon, Nook—send me the link to the review. Easy as that.